Review: Kathy Reichs – The Bone Collection

An impressive collection of short stories which will have any Bones fan impressed.

Plot: A collection of pulse-pounding tales featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan—including the untold story of her first case! The #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the hit Fox series Bones, Kathy Reichs is renowned for chilling suspense and fascinating forensic detail. The Bone Collection presents her trademark artistry in this collection of thrilling short fiction. In First Bones, a prequel to Reichs’s first novel, Déjà Dead, she at last reveals the tale of how Tempe became a forensic anthropologist. In this never-before-published story, Tempe recalls the case that lured her from a promising career in academia into the grim but addictive world of criminal investigation. (It all began with a visit from a pair of detectives—and a John Doe recovered from an arson scene in a trailer.) The collection is rounded out with three more stories that take Tempe from the low country of the Florida Everglades, where she makes a grisly discovery in the stomach of an eighteen-foot Burmese python, to the heights of Mount Everest, where a frozen corpse is unearthed. No matter where she goes, Tempe’s cases make for the most gripping reading.

Remarks: After inspiring the story of the hit TV show ‘Bones’, it’s clear that Kathy Reichs has something special about her. Here, she delivers four impressive short stories – which almost feel as part of a miniseries of sorts – and it’s something rather refreshing. Kathy puts a lot of effort into the planning and writing of her stories and therefore, she has managed to create a gripping book which is bound to keep readers on their toes. What’s special about this series of short stories is that, although complex, the stories are an easy read. The characters are deep (and scary) and the way Kathy introduces them into the novel adds a tremendous amount of value to the stories. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers, this is definitely a book you need to read.